Plodprasop vows PTTGC will pay
Foreign help needed to fight Samet spill, he says
Thailand is ill-equipped to handle the Rayong oil spill, Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi admitted yesterday.
He also said the government must set up a committee to handle the catastrophe.
Government spokesman Teerat Ratanasevi wrote on his Twitter account that Mr Plodprasop was speaking while in Mozambique yesterday as part of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s delegation during her five-day, three-country trip to Africa. The delegation moved on to Tanzania later yesterday.
Mr Plodprasop conceded that Thailand lacked sufficient equipment to deal with the situation and prevent the oil slick from reaching the shore.
Mr Plodprasop said authorities should seek help from Singapore, which has proper equipment to contain oil slicks.
The environment and the tourism and fishing industries are most at risk from the oil spill, he said, and priority must be placed on protecting them.
The deputy premier said PTT Global Chemical Plc (PTTGC) would be ‘‘paying every baht’’ to cover the cost of damages, according to Mr Teerat’s tweet.
Also speaking from Mozambique, Ms Yingluck said PTTGC would cover the cost of damages caused by the spill, while the government would move to ensure the safety of locals and tourists.
Ms Yingluck said she has instructed agencies to seek assistance, if needed, from neighbouring countries which are equipped to handle such a crisis.
Energy Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal yesterday urged people affected by the oil spill to negotiate with PTTGC for compensation instead of suing.
‘‘Negotiation is a better option,’’ he said. ‘‘Lawsuits could take more than three years to run their course.
‘‘Moreover, the company has admitted full responsibility.’’
Mr Pongsak was speaking as he inspected clean-up operations at Koh Samet’s Ao Phrao beach.
He said he had ordered Rayong governor Wichit Chartpaisit to compile a list of people affected by the spill so they could receive speedy compensation.
Mr Pongsak said the clean-up of Ao Phrao would finish today, after which a rehabilitation process would get under way.
However, conservationist group Green- peace warned that a lot more needed to be done.
‘‘[PTTGC’s] claim that 80% of the work is done is false,’’ Greenpeace campaigner Ply Pirom said. ‘‘There is a lot of oil still in the bay. ‘‘It’s very disappointing that this global company has no emergency plan to deal with the crisis.’’
PTTGC admitted that about 50,000 litres of crude oil leaked from an offshore pipeline feeding a refinery in the Map Ta Phut industrial estate on Saturday.
It was not until some of the oil washed up at Ao Phrao on Sunday night that serious concerns were raised about the real scale of the leak and how much it would affect the environment and tourism.
Thai Environmental Health Association secretary-general Sonthi Kotchawat said the authorities and PTTGC had acted too slowly.
He said this showed the existing emergency action plan for oil spills was insufficient.
‘‘PTTGC has invested tens of millions of baht in clean-up equipment and training its staff,’’ he said. ‘‘So, the question is why were they so slow to respond when the oil slick reached Samet?’’
Mr Sonthi also raised questions about the effects the chemical dispersant being used to combat the slick will have on the marine environment.
He called on the Energy Ministry and the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry to investigate PTTGC over the oil spill and release the findings.
The cabinet yesterday assigned the Energy Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, and the Transport Ministry to respond to the crisis.
Transport Minister Chadchat Sittipunt has been assigned to chair a committee to oversee the oil spill problem.
‘‘We will review the current response and prevention plan to see if it is up to date,’’he said.
Marine Department deputy chief Nat Japjai said yesterday that measures were being implemented to prevent the spill from reaching the mainland.
He said seven boats with booms were deployed to prevent the slick from reaching Ban Pae and surveillance was stepped up at Koh Kudi.
Phuchong Saritdeechaikul, director of the 1st Marine and Coastal Resources Conservation centre, said the oil slick at Ao Phrao was being contained but noted that strong winds and high waves were hampering efforts.
Experts are worried the chemical dispersants being used in the oil spill cleanup operation in Rayong province could cause environmental damage.
They have urged PTT Global Chemical Plc (PTTGC) to reveal what type of dispersants are being used.
Their call came after Pollution Control Department chief Wichian Jungrungreon admitted yesterday that using dispersants could harm the environment.
PTTGC has remained silent about what chemicals it is using but also said they could pose a hazard to the environment and people’s health.
‘‘There is no option,’’ Mr Wichian said. ‘‘The massive oil spill and windy conditions prevent us from using booms to contain the spill.
‘‘Dispersants are the last resort in this situation.’’
Lack of information about the chemicals has prompted experts to pressure authorities and PTTGC to provide more details.
‘‘It’s important to know what chemicals they are and how much is being used so we can decide on measures to prevent possible negative impacts,’’ Arpa Wangkiat, a professor at Rangsit University’s environmental engineering department, said.
‘‘Don’t leave questions to society. Disaster management should not be left in the hands of one participant.’’
Ms Arpa said her studies have found the use of dispersants can result in environmental damage and health problems.
Environmental activists suspect PTTGC might be using Corexit to tackle the Rayong oil slick because it is commonly used worldwide.
In 2012, a study found that Corexit increases the toxicity of oil by 52 times. It can remain in the ecological food chain for many years and cause widespread and long-lasting health impacts.
‘‘The use of dispersants is a solution that creates new and worse problems,’’ Ms Arpa said.
The main ingredients of Corexit include 2-Butoxyethanol which can comprise up to 60% of the dispersant and is known to harm the blood, kidneys, liver and central nervous system.
Experts say the substance can also cause cancer, birth defects and has been found to cause genetic mutations.
It is also a delayed chronic health hazard as well as an environmentally hazardous material.
Pornsri Mingkwan, director of the Pollution Control Department’s marine environment division, said PTTGC has sought permission to use 32,000 litres of a dispersant called Slickgone NS since the spill occurred on Saturday.
However, the dispersant is ineffective in tackling oil slicks more than 48 hours after a spill occurs, she said.
Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a leading marine biologist at Kasetsart University, wrote on his Facebook page that the use of dispersants should be avoided in seas where the water is about 20m deep or less.
This was because dispersed oil could come into contact with the sea bed and caused negative effects on benthic organisms that live there, he wrote.
He called on the authorities to check the depth of the sea off Rayong.
He also urged authorities to clarify which agency had allowed the use of dispersants on Sunday.
Pisut Painmanakul, also of Chulalongkorn University’s environmental engineering department, said the Rayong oil spill could lead to a similar problem which occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 when Corexit was primarily used to deal with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Officials took three months to deal with the oil slick there but scientists have said the toxic chemical remains in the ecological system.
Samai Kungsaworn, director of the Office of Diseases Prevention Control 3 which oversees Rayong, said local health units have reported four patients complaining of dizziness since the oil spill on Saturday.
The cases could possibly be linked to the oil’s pungent smell in the area, he said.
He has advised locals to stay away from the shore because the smell could cause respiratory problems.